The Death Penalty Debate Essay

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The Death Penalty Debate

The issue of the death penalty is widely disputed. So disputed that maybe I shouldn’t have picked this topic. But nevertheless, the death penalty is an issue that needs to be addressed. Should the death penalty be abolished from our criminal justice system? Well, that depends on whom you ask. If you ask me… no. I personally don’t see anything wrong with the death penalty because there are a lot of criminals that are just too dangerous to society and death is the only punishment they deserve.

I know that it is in the eighth amendment that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, and I can’t think of a greater punishment for a crime than death, but I believe that exceptions should be made.

The most recent state to enact a death penalty law was New York in 1995. As of January 1998, 38 states and the federal government have capital punishment laws in effect. Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin do not have a death penalty. (http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/just/death/)

Death penalty advocates argue that the execution of convicted murderers deter others from committing murder for fear that they will also be executed, and also that murderers will be incapacitated: once dead, they will have no opportunity to commit additional murders. Death penalty opponents dispute the deterrent effect of capital punishment, arguing that few murderers rationally weigh the possibility that they might face the death penalty before committing a murder. Finally, death penalty opponents do not dispute that execution incapacitates executed murders, but argue that life imprisonment without possibility of parole is equally incapacitating. (Jacob Sullum, Los Angeles)
I do not agree with this statement. I couldn’t think of punishment worse than death. If I were a criminal I

is the death penalty still allowed throughout much of the U.S.? The process of prosecuting and convicting an individual is astronomical, and there is great debate as to whether the death penalty actually works as a deterrent. Retribution and biasness have contributed too many that have received this sentence, considering all this, life imprisonment is best for all, realistically, and most effective. The advantages of life imprisonment far more outweigh the death sentence.
Death Penalty
America…

The death penalty raises important questions about the right to life, who has a right to life, and under what circumstances a right to life can be taken away. I believe there are no circumstances under which capital punishment is justified. I will proceed to defend my claim that capital punishment is unjustified by arguing a position that killing is wrong because it deprives individuals of valuable futures.
To support my thesis that capital punishment is not justified, I will expand upon an argument…

how the death penalty argument has changed in the last 25 years in the United States. They examine six specific issues: deterrence, incapacitation, caprice and bias, cost innocence and retribution; and how public opinion has change regarding these issues. They argue that social science research is changing the way Americans view the death penalty and suggest that Americans are moving toward an eventual abolition of the death penalty.
The authors describe the history of the death penalty statues…

Senator for Utah Orrin Hatch once said, “Capital punishment is our society’s recognition of the sanctity of human life,” (Brainy Quote). While the arguments for both sides of the debate over the morality of the death penalty are vast, the bottom line is that the death penalty does not disregard human life, but rather it reveres it, as Hatch said. Morality is defined as, “The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct,” (The Free Dictionary). One who seeks to protect a person…

The death penalty is one of the most hotly debated legal issues in the democratic world today. This is particularly the case in the United States, where some states have implemented capital punishment as a response to major crimes and others have abolished the practice. Among legislators, policy makers, and the general public, there appears no likelihood of resolving the debate. The wide array of moral, religious, humanitarian, and criminological views simply appears too divergent to ever meet. At…

controversial debate over the death penalty has been going on for a very long time and still has no conclusive solution. In the United States that is, most of the rest of the civilized world has done away with the death penalty a long time ago. Many people have different views on this issue. Although, there is a consensus that heinous murders need to be severely punished, there is no consensus on the choice of that punished. The debate over the proper punishment lies between the death penalty and life…

The Death Penalty Debate
To kill or not to kill. That is the question. Some people think it is
wrong; however, a close look into the matter will show it is the right
thing to do. The Bible states "thou shall not kill" but it also states
"an eye for eye". The death penalty is the worst and most deserved
punishment for those who choose to take a life. There is no excuse for
a life to be taken; therefore, the murderer should be punished to the
full extent. Imagine a loved…

The death penalty seems to be a very debatable subject. There are arguments and support for both sides of the debate, but which side is right? That is a tough question to ask. After reading the article in the textbook, two other articles, and looking at statistics, I seem to feel that the death penalty may not be the right answer.
The article in the textbook The Death Penalty in the United States and Worldwide was fairly informative. One of the points it brought up was the cost of life without…

Introduction
The death penalty to all kind of rapist has always been one of the most hotly debatable issues among the societies. Everybody including the politicians, religious heads, media commentators, women’s rights activists, with a voice heard or unheard have an opinion it. Can death penalty check the occurrence of a heinous crime like rape? Death penalty is define as punishment of execution. Meanwhile, all kind of rapist means all type of person who commit rapes (Oxford University Press, 2013)…

In the United States, the use of the death penalty continues to be a controversial issue. Every election year, politicians, wishing to appeal to the moral sentiments of voters, routinely compete with each other as to who will be toughest in extending the death penalty to those persons who have been convicted of first-degree murder. Both proponents and opponents of capital punishment present compelling arguments to support their claims. Often their arguments are made on different interpretations…